


Last to Know

by MEGArdevoir



Category: Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha | Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-26
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2018-03-19 19:30:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3621579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MEGArdevoir/pseuds/MEGArdevoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fate attempts to muster the courage to tell Nanoha how she feels, only for a startling revelation to be dropped on her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Last to Know

In the first year of high school, Fate resolved to accomplish one thing. For her, it was a monumental task and one she had put off time and time again. Seeing others do it so easily made her disappointed in herself, but that disappointment eventually turned to motivation as she decided doing nothing was worse than trying and failing.

Fate got herself pumped when she decided _what_ she was going to do, but that confidence went away as quickly as it had come when she realized she had no idea _how_ to do it.

Considering what it was, she could not go to the person she would otherwise go to when troubled.

“Testarossa.” The voice pulled Fate out of her daydream. “You have been acting strange for a while now. What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, Signum.” Fate looked at the woman sitting in the other chair before returning her gaze to the cup of tea in her hand. “I came here to talk to you about it, actually.” She came to her friend the other day for the same reason, but got cold feet. Was she transparent or was Signum more perceptive than she had expected?

“Alright. I will offer whatever help I am capable.” Fate could see the concern on the woman’s face.

Fate stared at the tea a bit longer before putting it onto the coffee table and collecting herself. She slapped a hand onto her chest and looked Signum in the eyes. “I want to date Nanoha.”

The baffled look Fate received was to be expected. “Signum, this may come as a surprise—”

“Not the word I would use.”

“—but this is how I feel.” Fate could feel her face was red.

A moment passed before Signum responded; she sighed. “I do not have the slightest idea what I may have done to give you the impression I was the appropriate person to come to for this. I apologize for whatever it was.”

Fate smiled. “You are my friend and I trust your judgement.” A nod. “And perhaps you could suggest something based on you and Shamal—” Fate cut herself off when Signum sighed again and rubbed her forehead.

“Whatever you are thinking, there is nothing of the sort between myself and Shamal.”

“But I heard—”

“That is called ‘gossip’, Testarossa.”

Gossip? Would her classmates have made things up based solely on the fact Hayate was in the custody of two grown women? That seemed far-fetched, but she could do nothing but believe Signum. She had thought it was odd that she had never heard Signum mention anything, but the woman was very private.

“At any rate, just Nanoha what you told me.”

Fate gaped and shook her head. “No. No, I can’t. I need to think of the right way. I need to think of what to do.” That only earned her another sigh and headshake. Signum suggested asking Hayate, but Fate shook her head. “Saying this to you was hard enough. I can’t imagine doing it ag—”

“Master.”

Fate’s concerns were cut off by a voice from behind and she let out a squeak. “Got it, Signum!” Standing behind her was Hayate, a grin on her face and a book in her hand.

“Hayate, what are you doing?”

“Sitting on the floor, readin’.” She waved the book. “Don’t you worry about a thing, Fate. I heard it all.” That was exactly what had her worried. “Signum’s romantic tips and tricks are a closely guarded secret—” Fate could not see the look Signum shot at Hayate. “—But I’ll help you out.” She came out from behind the chair and plopped herself into Signum’s lap.

“Alright, you wanna know what to do?”

Fate nodded.

“You’ve gotta be yourself.”

Fate frowned.

“C’mon. I swear that’s all you need to do. But if you want something more, well…” Hayate scratched her cheek before snapping her fingers. “Warm her up first! Compliment her a bit before telling you how you feel. Like, y’know…” The girl grinned. “I’ve noticed Nanoha getting’ bigger!”

Fate furrowed her brows. “Nanoha has gotten taller, but I don’t see how that will help.”

The grin disappeared. “Alright, startin’ to see where the problem is.”

Fate’s shoulders slumped. In hindsight, she should not have expected helped after dropping such a revelation on her friends. She should not have expected a solution from them at all; in hindsight, she realized she was trying to push the responsibility onto them. Feeling down, she stood to leave.

“I’m sorry for bothering you. Both of you.”

“Nah, nah, nah.” Hayate shook her head and gently poked Signum with her elbow. “We’re sorry we ain’t better help, Fate. But we’ve got faith in you. And you got three days left, right?”

Fate looked between the two of them. “How did you…?”

“The dance is Friday.” Hayate raised an eyebrow.

“You are clever and creative, Testarossa.” Signum chimed in. “But you can be, uh…predictable.”

Asking for dating advice days before the school event must have made her goal obvious. She had hoped to make her plan more romantic by coordinating her admission with the dance, but maybe it would not be as effective as hoped if it was so predictable. Of course, this all hinged on her having the courage and a plan by that day.

 

* * *

 

 

The next day, Fate found herself wrapped in as much thought as the day before and just as much to show for it. Every scenario she played out in her head resulted her losing her determination at the last moment or ruining everything. That was what she feared most. Nanoha was the most important to her: Hayate and the Wolkenritter were dear friends; Lindy, Chrono, and Arf gave her a family when she never thought she would have one; but Nanoha was the one who had saved her and filled her life with joy and had given her a reason to live every day for so many years.

Opening up was a terrifying prospect. That fact shamed her; she should trust Nanoha enough to be honest without worry, right? No one else deserved that trust more. But even today she felt the impact her childhood had on her. The fear of rejection was paralyzing.

“Faaate. Faaate! Are you ignoring me?” The voice pulled her out. Lindy stood in the bedroom doorway.

“Oh. Sorry, Mom.” Fate turned her attention back to petting Arf, asleep in her lap. Her familiar had been of little help when the subject of Nanoha came up, only shouting things like ‘no way! No one could ever turn down Fate!’ and things like that. Not helpful outside of bringing a smile to Fate’s face.

Lindy joined Fate on the bed. “Is something wrong? You’ve been quiet lately.”

Fate smiled. Not many people were capable of noticing when Fate was quiet considering she was a reserved person to begin with. Trying to hide things from her mother never quite worked. “Sorry. I think I may be a little tired. That’s all.”

Lindy nodded, but Fate could see that she was still concerned. “Well, you will want to be well-rested for tomorrow. I talked to Nanoha’s mother earlier and she’s very excited about tomorrow. Nanoha can’t stop talking about you and the dance.”

That brought a flush to Fate’s face. “Really?”

“Really. Her mother said she kept asking what you would think when they went shopping for dresses.” Lindy ruffled Fate’s hair. “Don’t know why, but that sounds familiar.”

Fate laughed and gently batted at her mother’s hand. She had asked Lindy the same question about Nanoha when trying on the dress for her dance—rather, Lindy overheard Fate mumbling the question to herself, but close enough.

“Hey, Mom. I was wondering. How did Chrono confess to Amy?”

Fate was baffled when her mom responded with a laugh. “Oh, no. No, no. It was all Amy.  If she hadn’t done anything herself, Chrono would be wondering how to do it to this day. He may have ended up waiting so long that he could ask their own daughter how to confess to Amy, thinking she might say no.”

That was disappointing. She had hoped her brother had done something she could mimic, but that did not help at all.

Lindy got up to tend to dinner, but stopped in the doorway for one last thing. “His father was like that, too. I think it might be a Harlaown curse to be oblivious to these things.”

 

* * *

 

The night of the dance came and Fate had nothing resembling a plan. Even know, as she stood outside the doors to the school waiting for Nanoha to arrive, she ran scenario after scenario through her head, still trying to decide what to say, how to say it, where to say it, and when to say it. Nothing felt good enough.

“Hey, Fate!” She looked up and smiled as Hayate, Signum, and Vita walked to her. Signum wore a pink dress, Hayate a faint blue one, and Vita was in a red suit. Based on the appearance of each, it was obvious they were Hayate’s handiwork. “You look great! You’re gonna turn heads.”

Fate herself wore a low-cut black dress that came to her knees—more mature than she had planned, but her mom had suggested it with a wink and a comment about Nanoha.

“All of you look nice, too. But I’m a bit surprised to see the two of you here.”

“I wasn’t about to come here without a date, y’know.” Hayate flashed a thumb up. “And who better than these kids? Don’t they look jaw-droppin’?”

“She managed to get me involved as a chaperone. Ironic, all things considered.” Signum flashed Fate a smile. Hayate was always solving problems in clever ways, but tended to make trouble in the process.

“Came for the food.” Vita said as she tugged at her color. She obviously wanted the tie off and unbutton the shirt. “And wasn’t about to let Signum hog Hayate all night.”

“So,” Hayate whispered, “any luck with Nanoha?” Apparently the look on Fate’s face was enough of an answer. “Oh. So, you didn’t take any of our advice? Fate, Fate, Fate…”

“Sorry.”

Vita rubbed her forehead. “Only suggestion I’ve got is to knock your heads together.”

Signum smiled and put a hand on Fate’s shoulder. “We have faith in you, Testarossa.” Fate smiled. “So don’t screw up.” Fate frowned.

“C’mon, you two.” Hayate hooked her arms with Signum and Vita. It was an odd sight, seeing as Vita had to hop on her tip toes while Signum had to hunch down. “We’ve got lots to do and we don’t wanna ruin Fate’s moment.” Hayate waved and dragged her knights into the school.

Everyone was so optimistic and supportive. Each one thought she could succeed, so why did Fate feel otherwise? The time for her to see the resolution through was winding down quickly. She still had no plan. This was Nanoha—she deserved the best and Fate could not think of what that would be in this situation.

“Fate-chan!”

With that voice, Fate felt her heart swell and all of her worried thoughts disappear for the first time in days. That was the effect her friend had. Fate beamed and looked at her. Nanoha—she stood there in the fading light in a white dress that reached to her calves; her hands and forearms wore matching gloves; her ponytail hung from the side of her head and was as long as ever.

The only word to describe what Fate felt at the sight was ‘awe’.

“Nanoha!”

Nanoha ran—despite the dress and her heels—and leaped into Fate’s arms. After a long hug, she settled down and ran her eyes up and down fate once. Then twice. Then three times. Another hug commenced.

“You’re beautiful, Fate!”

Fate felt her face burning and her grin reaching from ear-to-ear. “You look amazing, Nanoha.”

Nanoha beamed. Fate melted at the sight and felt a surge of pride at the thought of causing that smile. For a few moments they were perfectly content to simply look at each other hands-in-hands. “Let’s go. I’ve got to impress everyone!” With that, Nanoha dragged her into the school.

Impress everyone with how she looked, Fate assumed. What else could she have meant?

Fate tried to put together a last minute plan in the few moments it took them to get to the dance hall. The best she managed was to pull Nanoha aside after they acclimated themselves to the party. They would find a table and in that moment of composure amongst all the excitement Fate would—

“Let’s dance!”

“Huh?”

A slow song was already playing, but the dance floor was empty. Being a school dance, it would take a bit of time before the teenagers built the nerve to jump in. Fate certainly was one needing that time, but Nanoha had no such reservations. Before she knew it, Fate was on the dancefloor with her hands on Nanoha’s waist and Nanoha’s arms around her shoulders.

“Nanoha, shouldn’t we wait for others?”

Nanoha tilted her head. “Why would we do that?”

Fate opened her mouth, but could not think of anything to say. She smiled and shook her head. She should have anticipated this. While this ruined her plan, she found it hard to be disappointed. Being so close to Nanoha and being able to look into those eyes, she felt her worry wash away. No matter the issue, it was difficult to be uncomfortable or anxious in Nanoha’s presence.

“Actually,” Nanoha said after a moment, “I wanted to ask if you’re feeling well. We haven’t talked recently and I heard you’ve been acting strange.”

Thinking she could keep anything secret from Nanoha had been foolish. She shook her head. “No, no. I’m fine, Nanoha.” She furrowed her brow. She bit her lip. She had no plan, but right now was the best opportunity: Nanoha had unknowingly broached the subject, they could not be overheard, and Fate was as comfortable as she would ever be. “There is something I would like to tell you, though.”

”Go ahead. Fate-chan can tell me anything.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Fate-chan.”

“No, no. I am _in_ love with you, Nanoha.”

“…Eh?”

She could feel her heart in her throat. “Please go out with me.” There was no going back now. Fate closed her eyes and winced in preparation for what was to come. She felt fingers gently touch her cheek and opened her eyes.

“Fate. You…” Nanoha sounded serious. Fate held her breath. “…can be so oblivious. But that’s only because you’re always so concerned for me, isn’t it? You need to be more selfish.”

Fate frowned. She had no idea what Nanoha was talking about.

“Didn’t you notice anything strange this week?” Nanoha continued as Fate’s expression showed she was lost. “How many people asked you to the dance?”

“None.” What did that have to do with anything?

“The most beautiful girl in school not being asked out by a single person. I wonder why?” Nanoha squeezed Fate’s cheek. “And not a single person asked me, either.”

Surprising. No, not surprising—Fate found that downright unbelievable. She still did not understand what it meant, though.

“What was the first thing Lindy said when you told her about the party? Did she ask who you were taking?”

“Mom?” Fate thought for a moment. She tried thinking back to what she had thought to be an innocuous conversation. “No, Mom didn’t ask me at all about who I would be taking. Oh. She did ask if I knew what you would be wearing, though.” Saying it out loud made one thing click: it was odd that her mother did not ask about a date. That was normally something a mother would be curious about, right?

“Hayate chastised me earlier. I thought she was being silly, but I think she might be right.”

Fate raised an eyebrow at that. What would Hayate criticize Nanoha about?

“Oh, Fate-chan. I’m so sorry.” Fate’s heart sank at that. “It seems like everyone knew but you. It’s my fault for not being direct.

“No one asked us out or about our dates because they already knew we were taken.”

That made no sense. Why would anyone think either of them was taken already, much less both? Fate’s eyes grew wide as everything clicked. Her mouth opened and closed uselessly.

“Sorry. Looks like you were the last one to find out you’re taken.”

Everything everyone had told her and everyone’s behavior was suddenly so very clear in hindsight. Her face turned a bright red. “I feel so dumb.”

“Nooo, Fate. It’s my fault. I’ll make up for it by being absolutely clear now, if it’s not too late.”

It took a moment for Fate’s mind to process the event and understand that the sensation now was of Nanoha’s lips against her own. The short kiss ended with them both giggling as they heard Hayate letting out a cheer from the other side of the room.

“Nanoha...”

“Fate-chan.”

Fate’s body felt light—even lighter than when she actually flew. No type of magic or soaring or fighting could compare to what she felt now. That said, she did have to consciously restrain herself from scooping Nanoha up and flying off.

“So. If you misunderstood all of the ‘I love yous’ before now…” Fate saw Nanoha thinking hard in silence before shaking her head. “Guess that means I’ll have to say them all over again. I love you; I love you; I love you; I lo—”

“ _Nanoha_.” It was hard for Fate to sound stern between laughs. “You don’t need to make up for anything. I might not survive if you do.” Fate received a nuzzle against her nose from Nanoha’s own.

“Alright. Not all at once, if only for Fate-chan’s health. That’s fine!” Nanoha nodded. “After all, I’ll have plenty of years for me to make it clear to you.”


End file.
